#ForOrAgainstBlackHistoryMonth? Join The Discussion

In the UK the month of October celebrates Black History month. Seen as an annual celebration of achievements by Africans  across the globe it’s embedded it’s way into our national curriculum.  Black History month is a great way of finding out information and discovering new pilgrims that Africans over came to be seen as an equal in today’s societal structure. Something that is still being fought for till this very day.

“Black History Month began as “Negro History Week,” which was created in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson, a noted African American historian, scholar, educator, and publisher. It became a month-long celebration in 1976. The month of February was chosen to coincide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln”  (History.com,2009)

Some people argue that Black History is needed to educate the youth about the history of their ancestors. It’s a chance to find out things you didn’t necessarily know and use the information to utilise and gather more knowledge on the matter independently.  Black history taught in schools can help non-black children gain an understanding for their peers.

A lot of emphasis is casted on the Slave trade when there is so much more to Black history. My History Teachers idea of teaching black history was putting on Roots for a whole academic year at school.

It could be argued that the idea of only dedicating one month a year to African history highlights the fact that their is a void in the curriculum that should be filled with authentic dialogue of Black history i.e The Egyptians, Black panther movement, Civil rights movements & the movement of Africans all over the continent,. The UK had a substantial part to play in the colonisation of Africa and what that colonisation has done to the minds of Africans hundreds of years later. Colonisation is mental entrapment and it breeds negative impacts on those who lived on the land first. Some of the bi-products of colonisation are colorism, Economic dependency and a lack of knowledge on the history of the people of the land.

If Black History is going to be taught I feel as if it needs to incorporate the economic & social factors that it affects. Do you think Black History month is needed ? Or do you think that the black history curriculum should be more diverse ? Join the discussion on socials #ForOrAgainstBHM